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Richard Branson takes anti-jargon stand

We’re no fans of leveraging jargon to maximize readability and shareability here at PR Daily (we have other methods to make our content sizzle), so we gladly welcome Sir Richard Branson to the anti-jargon club.

The Virgin Group founder recently penned a piece for LinkedIn (who knew that was once of his core competencies?) on why words—notably those of the non-jargon variety—truly matter.

Here are some of his learnings:

A few years ago we were looking into investing money in a financial company. The person I was talking to said: “We only have a 5% bid offer spread.” Later I asked one of my team what the guy was talking about. He explained how they were using jargon as a way of hiding the fact they were stealing 5% before we even started! Sometimes there are more sinister reasons for using jargon, and it is all too easy to fall foul of these tricks.

Not that we’re drinking the Branson Kool-Aid or anything, but his company worked with Sundog Pictures to make some bleeding-edge videos explaining the jargon behind things such as investment, mortgages, and saving money. We think they have the potential to really move the needle.

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to these topics, so hopefully these videos instill the types of best practices that will empower you to get your financial ducks in a row.